I need to create a series of steps that will help writers make their data easier to understand. I am going to copy and paste a before and after. Please write a series of steps explaining how to get from the first example, to the second one:
“Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, analyzed data from the General Social Survey and shared it with me over email. He found that in the 1970s, among people who took the survey and had a graduate degree, “39 percent of them married someone with a high school diploma or less. Fifty-seven percent married someone with at least a four-year degree. In the 2020s, among people with a graduate degree, just 19 percent married someone with a high school diploma or less, and 78 percent married someone with a college degree.”
Improvement: “Since the 1970s, fewer people with a graduate degree marry mere high school graduates: today, it’s 1 in 5, down from 2 in 5. In the 1970s, nearly 3 in 5 married someone with at least a four-year degree; today, it’s 4 in 5.
How Do We Get From A to B?
To transform a complex data description into a more comprehensible and engaging format, as illustrated in the example provided, follow these steps:
1. Simplify the Context: Start by reducing background information to the essentials. The original text provides detailed information about the source of the data and the person who analyzed it. While this information establishes credibility, it can be streamlined if the focus is solely on the data’s implications.
2. Use Relatable Terms: Replace technical or academic language with more relatable terms. For instance, instead of specifying “people with a graduate degree,” you can say “people with advanced degrees,” if it maintains accuracy, or keep the original term if it’s clear enough but explain it in a more relatable way.
3. Convert Percentages to Ratios: Percentages can be abstract and hard to visualize. Converting these into ratios or fractions, such as “1 in 5” or “2 in 5,” makes the data more tangible and easier for the audience to understand and relate to their everyday experiences.
4. Highlight Change Over Time: Emphasize how the data has changed over time by directly comparing past and present figures. Use phrases like “since the 1970s” or “today” to clearly mark the time frames being compared. This approach helps the audience quickly grasp the trend or shift in behavior or outcomes.
5. Reduce Specific Details: While specific details can enrich a narrative, they can also clutter it. Consider what details are essential for understanding the main point. In this case, the exact percentages are less important than the general trend, so they are simplified into more digestible ratios.
6. Use Active Voice: Where possible, use active voice to make sentences more dynamic and engaging. This can help in making the text more lively and easier to read.
7. Focus on Key Insights: Identify the most impactful findings from the data and present these upfront. This helps the reader understand the significance of the data without getting bogged down in numbers.
8. Make Comparisons Intuitive: When making comparisons, structure them in a way that intuitively highlights the contrast. Phrases like “down from 2 in 5” or “today, it’s 4 in 5” immediately show increase or decrease, making the comparison clearer.